Dave Chappelle ‘SNL’ joke ‘calls for a conversation’

Jerry Seinfeld has shared his thoughts on Dave Chappelle’s controversial Saturday Night Live monologue.

Seinfeld, who is Jewish, addressed the comedic routine — which revolved around Kanye West’s anti-Semitic rants and “normalized anti-Semitism” — in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

“I thought the comedy was well done,” the 68-year-old comedian told the outlet. “But I think the topic calls for a conversation, which I don’t want to have in this place.”

“It provokes a conversation that will hopefully be productive,” he continued when asked if he was “uncomfortable” about the comments.

Seinfeld also noted that while he’s friends with Chappelle, he “doesn’t have a close relationship with him.”

Chappelle, 49, guest-starred on Seinfeld’s Netflix talk show Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee in 2018, and the conversation is featured in the forthcoming book about the show.

Last weekend, Chappelle hosted “SNL” – which reportedly prompted a boycott of some SNL writers – and began his monologue by unfolding a piece of paper and saying, “I condemn anti-Semitism in all its forms. And I stand with my friends in the Jewish community. And with that, Kanye, you buy yourself some time.”

“I’ve been doing this for probably 35 years now and early in my career I learned that there are two words in the English language that you should never say together in a row and those words are ‘The’ and ‘Jews’,” continued Chapelle away. “I’ve never heard anyone do any good after saying that.”

The controversial comedian also said that he grew up around Jewish people, “so I wasn’t freaked out by your culture,” and that “the illusion that Jews are in show business” is “not a crazy thing to think” but “it is crazy to say something out loud.”

“It shouldn’t be that scary to talk about anything,” Chappelle said. “It makes my job incredibly difficult.”

Chappelle’s “SNL” monologue drew widespread criticism, including from the Anti-Defamation League.

“We shouldn’t expect @DaveChappelle to serve as society’s moral compass, but it’s troubling to see @nbcsnl not only normalize #antisemitism, but popularize it.” That’s what ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said on Sunday.

“Why are Jewish sensibilities denied or belittled on almost every corner? Why does our trauma elicit applause?” Greenblatt continued.

“SNL” also faced backlash for hosting Chappelle in the first place for his comments about the trans community on his 2021 comedy special “The Closer.”